I have been writing and practicing all day for a presentation on touch and art that I must give tomorrow night. Ugh - I am so nervous and want to eat a whole bag of chips. But practicing does help. Reading through the script and working with the rhythm of the PowerPoint slides calms me down. Then I time it and figure out where the "fat" is and cut it out. Practice, practice, practice.
I used to run a small music school and told the parents "Even getting them to practice and hold the instrument for 5-10 minutes builds the muscles memory and then the body knows what to do." I used to play the violin and grew to love the practicing. This was an adult though. I hated practicing as a child because I had no one to really encourage me.
As a 40 year old I started working with a wonderful teacher in his 80s and truly wanted to please him every week as if I was a six year old again. He taught me how to practice in the true sense of the word. He had a career spanning decades and accompanied such names as the Beatles to the American Ballet Theatre. Every week when I arrived, hoping I had practiced enough, I would find him playing his scales as he said to keep him "honest." It was a discipline that I appreciate as it brings with it structure and achievement. I so appreciated having him as a mentor.
I'm not sure how it will go tomorrow, but I plan to continue to practice.
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| My violin teacher Elliot Magaziner - a legend in the music world |
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